From Turning a Small California Bank into a Growth Engine to Building a Creator-Focused Fintech

He started in investment banking during the dot-com boom, later moving to London to convert high-yield telecom bonds into equity, a role that left him overweight and distant from family. Retiring to Gibraltar and Sotogrande, he co-founded one of Europe’s first e-money issuers, expanding its services across more than 20 countries before selling it to The Bancorp. Returning to the United States, he was recruited to revitalize a small California bank, where he introduced institutional banking, Visa/MasterCard relationships, and acquisition strategies that grew the bank from roughly $600 million in assets and 60 staff to $17 billion and 2,000 employees, earning the title of America’s fastest-growing bank for three straight years.

Disillusioned with traditional banks’ focus on salaried workers, he identified a $40-$60 billion gap in the $400 billion creator economy and, with former colleagues, built MAKE—a compliance-driven banking platform for creators, freelancers, and globally-mobile small businesses. The company has invested about $5 million of its own capital to develop AML, KYC, and cross-border transaction tools before seeking external funding. He urges established banks to redesign products for the evolving ways people earn, rather than merely digitizing legacy offerings.